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PARKS & RECREATION BOARD 2020/12/15 MinutesThe City of Lake Forest Parks and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes December 15, 2020 REMOTE ACCESS MEETING I. Call to Order The Parks and Recreation Board Meeting was called to order by Chairman Paul Best at 6:30p.m. The following were present via Zoom meeting: Board Members: Mr. Paul Best Ms. Nancy Duffy (7:00pm) Ms. Shannon Maguire Mr. Jared Rhoads Mr. Marc Silver Ms. Kaci Spirito (6:31pm) Ms. Melanie Walsh Staff: Ms. Sally Swarthout, Director of Parks and Recreation Mr. Joe Mobile, Superintendent of Recreation Mr. Chuck Myers, Superintendent of Parks, Forestry & Special Facilities Mr. Anthony Anaszewicz, Program Manager, Athletics Mr. Jason Busdeker, Facility Manager Ms. Dani Spann, Administrative Assistant II. Approval of Minutes Meeting minutes of the October 20, 2020 Park & Recreation Board Meeting were presented and approved. Board member Maguire motioned for approval of the minutes and Board member Walsh seconded. The Board meeting minutes of October 20, 2020 were then unanimously approved by roll call with 6 ayes and 0 nays. III. Opportunities for the Public to Address the Board on Items not listed on the Agenda None IV. Fitness Center Equipment Purchase Approval Jason Busdeker, Facility Manager, presented to the Board, the request for approval to purchase 15 new pieces of fitness center equipment. The current equipment was purchased in 2012 and 2014 and has outlived the 5-7 year useful life of the equipment. This equipment will include 3 Treadmills, 6 Elliptical, 4 Recumbent Bikes, and 2 Adaptive Motion Trainers. These are Certified Pre-Owned equipment, and will include the same warranty as new equipment. The equipment will be purchased via the national government joint purchase co-operative, Sourcewell. The City has purchased multiple pieces of equipment from national bids to include Sourcewell, Omnia Partners, State bid, and the Suburban Purchasing Cooperative. Sourcewell, formerly National Joint Powers Alliance, was created by State law as a service cooperative to provide programs and services to members in education and government. Sourcewell follows the competitive contracting law process to solicit, evaluate, and award cooperative purchasing contracts for goods and services. Requested Action: Staff is requesting approval to purchase 15 new pieces of fitness center equipment, in the amount of $63,125.00. A motion was made by Board member Rhoads to approve the purchase of Fitness Center Equipment. The motion was seconded by Board member Silver. The motion passed with a roll call of 6 yays and 0 nays. V. Tennis Court Usage Policy Anthony Anaszewicz, Athletics Program Manager, went over the background of the tennis courts and the current tennis court usage over the past year. Recently, residents have brought up their concerns with usage on outdoor courts. Mr. Anaszewicz discussed the proposal for court usage guidelines to be posted. Staff feel this will be a good first step to help mitigate some of the issues that were experienced this past season. With the indoor courts being closed due to COVID 19, this has increased the usage of our outdoor tennis courts. Mr. Anaszewicz presented the proposal of Court Usage Guidelines and staff findings from neighboring communities. Neighboring communities stated they haven’t experienced the issues Lake Forest has. Vernon Hills mentioned they have guidelines posted and rely heavily on the residents to self-manage, if necessary they do have an ordinance to fall back on. Discussion followed on important information that should be listed on the guidelines and to include the racking system to help manage people waiting. Staff would like to have an ordinance established for tennis court usage. The next step will be to meet with the attorney to discuss moving forward in establishing an ordinance. Staff will put together an official copy of the guidelines to share with the Parks and Recreation Board. VI. Director Comments Director Swarthout updated the Board on the IDOT project on Deerpath and Rt. 41. Currently, trees are being marked for removal, with the tree work being done in January. We are expecting excavation to start on the ponds in mid-January. Chuck Myers, Superintendent, stated there have been a lot of meetings between IDOT and Burgher Construction and they are anxious to get things started. A landscape architect has been hired and is working on rehabilitation for the Golf Course once the construction is complete. Ms. Swarthout updated the board on the hockey rink at West Park. Due to COVID and to keep staff and public safe they are going with the one board system making it easier to clear the ice. We will go back to a full hockey rink once it is safer. Director Swarthout informed the Board due to COVID restrictions and being under tier 3 mitigation the Recreation Center has been mostly shut down with only Kinderhaven and the Fitness Center remaining open to the public. Kinderhaven has made the pod sizes smaller in order to keep staff and children safe. Fitness classes have gone virtual via Zoom and has had a great response. The Dance Academy also had their holiday spectacular via live stream and had great success. Ms. Swarthout shared a spotlight video on the Recreation Center. It can also be viewed on YouTube. Director Swarthout informed the Board of some ongoing and upcoming winter events. • Letters to Santa- Currently a Mailbox for Santa is at the Recreation Center • Zoom with Santa-December 12th talk with Santa via Zoom • Santa’s Drive Thru Visit- December 19th at 10am – 12pm at Dickinson Hall VII. Board Member Comments Chairman Best asked about the timeline of the IDOT project. Superintendent Myers answered it should be completed by the end of 2022. Board member Maguire mentioned using the dirt to elevate some of the tee boxes on the Golf Course. Chairman Best asked for an update on the status of turf fields. Joe Mobile, Superintendent, said they are evaluating options and this is not a fast process. Once all options are addressed there will be a public hearing held. The lighting at Townline has a process that must be followed and Staff want to evaluate all options before moving forward. Board member Walsh asked about pickle ball courts and if equipment is available to rent or lessons offered at the Recreation Center. Mr. Mobile answered yes there is an introductory program for beginners held in the Recreation Center gym. For more information on enrolling, you can call Program Supervisor, Ken Pierini. Mr. Myers mentioned there will be pickle ball courts added at Everett Park and West Park. Board member Walsh commented on how hard the staff worked to clean up the sand at the beach. Board member Maguire inquired about getting communication out early on the beach information and plan for the 2021 season. Ms. Maguire also thanked everyone for going above and beyond in 2020 and appreciates all the work and creativity. Adjournment Board member Silver motioned for adjournment and Board member Maguire seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 7:38p.m. Respectfully Submitted Dani Spann Administrative Assistant